Standard of position for aircraft.



S R. WOOD.

STANDARD OF. POSITION FOR AIRCRAFT. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 28. 1912. RENEWED OCT. 30. 1914.

1,142,218. I 1 PatentedJuneS, 1915.

WITNESSES T INVENTOR M Mam tion for comes vantage as construction oil the buoyed rnemh UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

nusnmoan woozo; or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

STANDARD OF, POSITION FOR AIRCRAFT.

Application filed October as, ieiasen l' No. 728,2

T all whom it may] concern:

'Be it known that I, RUsHMoRE 1001), a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State ork, have invented certain'ne w and movements in Standards of Posia specificatiom; rei'erence'b eing hadtherein to the accompanying drawings.

My nvention consists of a standard oi oiling force is a buoyant force exopposlt on to the force of gravity. e standard possesses a great adthe efiects'of ei ternal disturbing forces applied :lr ".'gl1 the c ra-ft are nullified. Such force s esult 'throughpitching and rocking oiitlie c it, sudden" changes in speed, and in turns, when centrifugal force v oplay. Broad T speaking my invention comprises a stan'c. of osition of this type in which thec'ontrolling' force is secured through the orceot the air on a member in air Specifically,.the member is confined lg2IKlStW QYUCZLl movement in said rne diuni by connection to a relatively lined member approx mately at its centrcic ne he fouoyant force is above the said point ofconnection at which it is secured.

My invention may be given many specific forms without departing in anywise from. its broad nature and generic spirit. These such thatthe center of pressure or forms will readilyoccur to those skilledin the art.-

For the purpose of the present application I show one of the forms known .to me and which appears at present to be the best form. I

This form of'my invention'comprises an envelop filled with gas lighter than air constituting a balloon and mountedv for pivotal connection to a relativelyfixed part of an aircraft or other craft on which it may be desired to use it, said mounting being also provided with a counterbalance for the,

weight'of said gas reservoir and the point of pivotal connection being located at the centroid of the structure whereby the efiects of external forces applied through the pivotal connection are nullified.

The single figure of the accompanying Specification of Lettersflatenti ir craft, of which the following is for aircraftof the type in which distinguished from w the :siinple pendul no standard and other types in that Patented J 11116 8, 1915.

27. Renewed Qctoocr 3o,1e14.' Scria1No..859,485.

operating connections for the balancing de 1 vices of aircraftin the form of: electrical controlling circuits through which actuating magnets governing the balancing devices directly or indirectly are energized.

Referring to this diagram, designated 10. This envelop may be made of very light fabric, or of light pressed metal. It is filled with a gas or other medium lighter than air, thus adapting the balloon to float when loosed in the air. It is not necessary as respects my invention however that the weight of the envelop itself be such as to permit it to rise when filled with the gas, as will presently appear, though it is preferable in certain cases that the weight of the envelop permit its rising The size and weight of the when loosed. envelop 10, and the lightness of the gas fined to, the craft and through ring 16 is pivotally connected with the other axis 13 pivotally mounted in the ring itseii at right anglesto the anis 14. This device is well understood in the art, as well as many other devices of the same type, any of which may be substituted for the one shown.

The rod 11 is extended below the gimbal connection and onits lower end rovided with an adjustable counterweight 1' which is of such proportions, and is adjusted to such position as to make the pivotal center 18 or the structure the centroid or center of inertia of, the structure. By this is meant that it movement of the structure is effected through force applied to the point 18, the structure will be moved bodily in the direction of the application of the force without change of the angular position of the axis as respects the direction of application of the force applied. Obviously'with such a structure mounted upon an aircraft as shown, by pivotal connection at the centroid 18, sudden change in the direction of move the balloon isf finish is pivotally supported in beams 15 I the device.

1 balance of the craft.

longitudinally,

ment of the craft, or pitching or rocking of the same will not destroy the equilibrlum'of For thepurpose of illustration the standard issho'wn as controlling electric circuits- -two of which 19' and 19 control the lateral balance of the craft, and another two of which 20 and 20 control the longitudinal Controlling magnets L and L are located respectively in circuits 19 and 19 while controlling magnets O and are connected respectively inlcircuits 20 and 20.

Circuits 19 and 19--terminate respectively in fixed contacts 0 and 0 adapted to 006perate with slottedv switch leverl which is pivotally connected at 21 to a fixed point.

and connects with rod 11 through its slot whereby-it may be moved right and left to engage contacts 0 and '0 when the craft moves'with respect to the standard 10, '11, 17. Similarly the circuits 20 and 20 are connected respectively'to contacts t and t cooperating with slotted switch lever e piv-' otally connected at right angles at lever Z at fixed point 22 -whereby, longitudinal movement of the craft back and forth with respect to standard 10, 11, 17 causes the closure of circuit 20 orcircuit 20 as the case may be. Magnets L 'L respectively energized on left and right movement of the craft control operating lever 23 connected either directly to the'balancing devices or thereto through an interposed power operated balancing mechanism, the operation of which are governed through the energiza-v tion of magnets L L,. Similarly the magnets 0 0 control an operating 'lever 24 (siimilarly associated with-the elevating ruders.

In the normal position of the craft, where the same is on an even keel both laterally and the switch levers Z and e do not engage any of the contacts a 0' and 25 t. Assuming a lateral unbalancing of the craft, the craft with its beams 15, and the fixed points 21, 22 changes its angular. position with respect to the standard 10, 11, 17 with the result that circuit 19 or 19 is closed depending upon whether the unbalancing is to ilglfi) or left, and the corresponding magnet lever 23 one way or the other to effect the proper movement of the balancing rudders to correct the unbalancing, The circuits 20 v 20 are similarly closed upon unbalancing in a longitudinal direction either fore or aft.

()bviously due to the'universal pivoting of the standard 10, 11, 17, and the independently affected switch levers eand Z, correction for'both longitudinal and lateral balance may be'eiiected at the same time and without the one interfering in any manner with the other. During the entire series of unbalanced movements of the craft the is ma ma, rocking the armature.

standard 10, 11, 17 which is pivoted at its centroid, is not oscillated irregularly or vibrated from its proper normal position, so that its governing action is accurate, pos1'- tive, and eflicient.

I In order to obviate eifects of varying he'a resistances, l inclose the standard of position of my invention within any suitable pherewill suflice. I do not desire to be limited as to'tne form of this inclosure which may indeed include the entire power operated. balancing mechanism together with the standard. As applied to mystandard of position, I consider that-this casing is part of my invention in that its use results in freeing the standard from variation of Wind 4 pressures on and between its parts.

As is Well known the action of temperatin-e on an elastic gas bag causes. an 'expan- I sion of the'gas and an increase in its lifting capacity. Such a variation in the buoyant .force of the standard would be but-slight especially with, ordinary temperature variations, but. in order toprovide against it, I

prefer to use an elastic gas container and to inclose the same in a non-elastic aluminum or other light envelop. This arrangement is clearly shown in the drawings at the point where the envelop '10 is broken away. The inner elasticenvelop is desige nated 26 and the outer non-elastic envelop is designated 27. This has the disadvantage that the buoyant force is not the same for all altitudes, but in cases where desired, the elastic envelop 26 may be used alone, whereby it expands, as the pressure of the atmosphere decreases on increasing altitude and the buoyant force is maintained more nearly approximately constant It is obvious of. course that instead 'of indirectly controlling the balancing Illd ders through the electrical relay circuits, by making the balloon 10 of'suiiicient size to provide "necessary controlling force, the.

standard 110, 11, 17 could be connected directly to the balancing rudders to directly operate the same as is the case with many already patented pendulum standards of po v sition.

Furthermore, ll wish it understood that for the purpose of clarity I have shown my invention diagrammatically and in connec- .tion with the very simplest electrical circuits. -My' invention however may be used in connection with any of the known power operated automatic balancing mechanisms in place of the usual pendulum, gyroscope,

floating device or other standard. When so used I wish it understood that the requisite connections to the follow-up devices used in those mechanisms, and to all parts to which connection of the standard of position should be made, may be made without involving invention.

My invention consists chiefly of the standard of position and as such it may be used in all positions in which standards of position have heretofore been used, and may be used in the future. It IS obvious also I that instead of using a single standardcof position for both lateral and longitudinal balance, -separate standards may be used,v

one for each. In this case. a gimbal joint would not be provided, but instead each standard would have motion about a single horizontal axis only. Still further, I con sider it within the scope of my invention to mount the standard slightly above or slightly below the centroid as occasionmay demand,

a giving it a slight bias to one direction or act too fast climbing.

atmosphere the other under varying 'speed conditions.

Thus in machines liable to sudden, climbing movements, it might be advisable to pivot tend to throw the pendulum forward to actuate the operating connectionsto counter And finally I consider it likewise within the scope of my invention to make the adjustable counterweight 17 of such proportions and of such form as to. in; itself be subject to varying head resistances approximately counterbalancing varying head resistances'to which the envelop 10 is subjected, whereby the stand ard ofmyinvention' may be used outside of I the inclosing casing 25 in more' moderate weather conditions.

Since the controlling force is thebuoyant force of the air on the balloon, and the weight of the balloon envelops are counterbalanced, it is not essential that the balloon when inflated be so light as to rise with the aluminum outer casing. The weight may be easily such as to prohibit using as an ordinary balloon and yet the resultant controlling force will main-' tain the standard in normal vertical controlling position.

' I also consider it within the scope of my invention to mount the standard of position within compressed air or other medium heavier than air cornpressedor non-compressed. When in a compressed atmosphere the device is independent of changes in altitude. In fact the inclosure for the standard may be hermetically sealed, and the air therein kept at substantially atmospheric pressure, whereby change of volume is prevented and the standard is free from disturbances due to change in altitude, just as free in fact as it would be in a compressed It is of course understood that p turbing forces the standard slightly below the centroid, whereby the mass above the centroid would the incl'osur'e 25 may be made a rigid nonexpanding-structure or not as desired.

What I claim isz}; Y e

1'. In. an aircraft, a standard of position comprising a'ba'lloon floating in air and secured to the craft by means permitting relative movement of "the craft with respect I thereto, and operating connections for balancing devices connected therewith and adapted to effect operation of balancing devices tocorrect unbalancing of thecraft upon the movement of the craft with respect thereto; 1

2'. In an airc' aft, a standard of positioncomprising a balloon floating in airand secured t6 the craft by means permitting relative movement of the craft with;respect' thereto, and operating connections. for bal- Iancing devices connected .therewith and adapted to' eilect operation of balancing devices to correct unbalancing of the craft upon the movement of the craft with respect thereto, together with a counterbalancing means also connected-with said'balloon and thrughwhich the effects of external disapplied through the craft are nullified; r i

'3. In an aircraft, a standard of position comprising a balloon device in which the controlling force is the buoyant force of the air on the device, the said device including a balloon, its mounting, and counterweight and being pivotally connected with the craft at its centroid, whereby the effects of external disturbing forces applied through the craft are nullified.

' 4. A standard of position comprising a balloon and rod structure adapted when pivotally .mounted to exert. a resultant upwardly directed-controlling force,- and hav-' ing means on the-horizontal axis of the centroid for pivotally connecting said stand ard with a craft.

5. A standard of position comprising a balloon device consisting of a gas-filled envelop, and a counterweight rigidly connectcured to the craft by means permitting relative movementof the; craft with respect thereto, and operating connections for balancing devices connected therewith and adapted to effect operation of balancing devices to correct unbalancing of the craft upon the movement of thecraft with respect thereto, and an inclos ure for said a standard adapted to preserve still air around directed controlling force, together with said standard at atmospheric pressure. centroid of the structure. 8. A standard of position comprising a I balloon adaptedwlien pivotally mounted at its centroid to exert a, resultant upwardly ane-e18,

inner elastic gas envelop and an outer nonelastie envelop whereby variations in temperature do not afieotthe location of th In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence oftwo witnesses.

4 v RUSHMORE WOOD. Witnessesz' Mrs; E. S. MONTGOMERY,

PHILIP L. SIBLEY; 

